This week’s woman to watch out for is Noname, a talented poet and hip-hop artist most recently featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert on Oct. 3 of last year. She performed an emotional and vibrant selection from her 2016 album
Telefone
. Her work addresses heavy themes, including a heart-wrenching story about abortion. But there is a brilliance in her performance that shines through the somber tone of her lyrics. Gracefully weaving together pain and jubilance, Noname’s lyrics deliver a raw account of her experiences living on the southside of Chicago.
Noname released her first album
Telefone
on July 31, 2016 as a free download on bandcamp.com. Since then, it has become available on all streaming services and has received popular and critical acclaim. The album is inspired by telephone conversations that proved formative in Noname’s adolescence and young adulthood in Chicago. Her lyrics speak to the specific struggles that accompany blackness and womanhood in contemporary America.
Rolling Stone
described the album as some of the year’s “most thought-provoking hip-hop.”
Stereogum
wrote that Noname possessed “a potency and urgency in her complicated, spoken word-esque cadences and subdued delivery that escapes many of her more animated peers.” Her words seem to resonate with audiences in part because she draws attention to the underlying forces of racism and oppression that operate constantly in American society.
In an interview with journalist Kiana Fitzgerald, Noname explained the purpose of her work. “My purpose isn’t to just churn out a bunch of music… I’m trying to make music that people can live with and be with forever. That takes time,” she said. The depth and weight of her lyrics anchor her work beyond the confines of trends, drawing both on universal emotions and the unique experiences of an American woman of color. Noname’s lyrics marry the agony of oppression with the persistent vibrancy of her spirit, infusing her music with piercing emotion.
Born Fatimah Nyeema Warner, Noname began writing poetry in high school english class. She got involved in the YOUMedia project, a Chicago-based initiative to promote young artists. There, she befriended Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, another aspiring artist later known as Chance the Rapper. Chance’s breakout mixtape
Acid Rap
featured Noname on the track “Lost,” catapulting both artists into the public eye. Since her 2013 appearance on
Acid Rap
, Noname has appeared with Chance the Rapper on Saturday Night Live in 2013 and contributed to his latest album,
Coloring Book
. Noname is known for her collaborative skills as well as her talent as an individual performer. She has also collaborated with Mick Jenkins on his mixtape
The Waters
, with her contributions featured on the track
Comfortable
.
Most recently, Noname has collaborated with fellow artist Saba on a new song critiquing gentrification in Chicago. “Church/Liquor Store” examines gentrification of Westside Chicago, where liquor stores are often located directly next to places of worship.
Noname has consistently used her art as a platform for social commentary, but is not above self-correction. She changed her stage name from “Noname Gypsy” to “Noname” after becoming aware of the racist connotations associated with the word “gypsy.”
In times as fraught as these, it is crucial to elevate voices like Noname’s. Bursting with talent, Noname channels her gift for music towards a larger cause of social justice, and her contributions to the art world are inextricably tied to her mission of social progress.
